‘Black English’ and ‘Asian English’ should be census options, MPs say
Summary
A cross-party group of UK MPs is backing a bill to let people in England identify as both English and members of any ethnic group in future census forms. The proposal follows debate over whether English identity is limited to white people and would bring the England census closer to options already available in Scotland and Wales.Key Facts
- Liberal Democrat president Josh Babarinde is tabling the 10-minute rule bill on Tuesday.
- The bill would let respondents in every ethnic group category identify as English in future censuses in England.
- The current England census lists “English” only within the “White” category.
- About 11% of people born in the UK who live in England and Wales—around 5 million people—are from minority ethnic backgrounds.
- The census in Scotland and Wales includes options such as “Scottish Asian” and “Black Welsh.”
- The proposal has backing from MPs across the Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties, including David Lammy, James Cleverly and Layla Moran.
- The push follows comments by Reform UK MP Suella Braverman that she does not consider herself ethnically English because of her South Asian heritage.
- Reform UK chair Zia Yusuf rejected the view that Ashley Cole, the former England footballer, is not English.
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